The Mola Mola Tambaqui DAC

[HH_miller]

Just received my new Tambaqui, right out of the box it lets my Susvaras sing. This little box continues to amaze me.

[Gavin1977]

2 hours ago, PYP said:

I would assume the presentations are different.  How would you characterize the differences you heard?

It's very difficult to characterise in writing because at this level we're beyond talking about bass and midrange etc..  we're actually talking about trying to dissect different interpretations of very realistic musical reproduction.  

 

To me the Tambaqui sounds very 'hifi' and I mean that in a traditional sense, it sounds more like a good quality CD player.  I felt the same about the T+A DAC 8DSD, similar style of sound.  Both DACs have presence.

 

Running the DAVE stock doesn't have the same presence or realism IMO, the soundstage is large but uninvolving and it's tonally very neutral.  I prefer the Tambaqui over the stock DAVE, and I prefer the Tambaqui over the T+A DAC 8 DSD because of it's better imaging (and a great roon end point if you ever use it).

 

Add the DC4 and also the SRC-DX to the DAVE and it transforms.  Emotively it feels like a prisoner (stock DAVE) being released from it's SMPS and USB interference shackles - fundamental improvements across the board, music washes over you, tone is beautiful and rich, hugely detailed, no longer analytical. 

 

Lots of people on here say that that the TT2 is 90% of the stock DAVE.  I believe that.  But when the DC4 and SRC-4 DAVE was removed from my system and I went back to the TT2 it was a major comedown and took me some time to re-adjust - I didn't really experience that when originally comparing the TT2 to the stock DAVE (this change was easier to quantify to... slight reduction in soundstage, detail and imaging, somewhat warmer tone with the TT2). 

 

Other than the marvellous imaging the Tambaqui has I also found it easy to switch between it and the T+A (fed HQPlayer DSD of course, otherwise it's not a fair fight).

 

Hope that helps - if you have the money try and experience the SR4 and SRC-DX DAVE.

 

p.s. I try to write up my experiences/subjective opinions as new topics here, have a look from my profile.

[PYP]

3 minutes ago, Gavin1977 said:

Hope that helps - if you have the money try to experience it.

Thanks, very interesting, but in my system the Tambaqui disappears with well recorded music and that is my goal for my setup.  In fact, with many 24 bit recordings, the whole system disappears, there is just music.  

[HH_miller]

My new Tambaqui does have now a few hours under the belt and is nice and warm, sounding sublime. I have been a cable skeptic for some quite times, but recently I experienced that even Ethernet cable made a difference…. Whatever.

 

Today I received a nice parcel from Tellurium Q containing Statement XLR and Silver Diamond 110Ohm AES and 75Ohm BNC. Installed early morning with just a short functional test, looked working all right.

 

Now with a nice cup of coffee the song Pearls (original by Sade) on The woman who raised me  is sending shivers down my spine, I guess they work as intended.

 

The Tambaqui is probably the most emotional capable piece of gear I have ever called my own.

 

 

[justthemusic]

On 6/21/2021 at 4:54 AM, HH_miller said:

Let me throw another combination into the mix. I am running my Tambaqui behind a Lumin U1. I decided against the X1 mainly because I did not want to buy into the Chip based DACs again, coming from R2R. But I did want to have a fabulous dedicated streamer to begin with. I am running the U1 with X-PS and an Audiosensibility cable though Mutec Re-Clock's to feed the Tambaqui with AES. 

Have you tried tried Leedh volume processing on your Lumin U1 streamer with the Tambaqui? Has anyone else here tried Leedh lossless volume control?

 

Joel Chevassus’s stellar review on SixMoons recently piqued my interest where he used the Leedh volume algorithm on the Lumin X1 as the streamer and volume control into a Mola Mola Tambaqui pre-amp-less into Lumin Amps and Vivid Giya speakers. He preferred the streamer and Leedh volume control in the X1 to the already good digital volume control in the Tambaqui, but unsurprisingly preferred the dac in the Tambaqui. He had high praise for the Lumin / Mola Mola combo and compared it favorably to some very high end Swiss gear.

[justthemusic]

On 6/24/2021 at 1:57 AM, Gavin1977 said:

It’s unlikely I’ll be able to get the two side by side… but I will see if I can pull in a favour!

I’m looking forward to thoughts on the Holo May and Chord Dave DC4 as well.

[mevdinc]

1 hour ago, justthemusic said:

Have you tried tried Leedh volume processing on your Lumin U1 streamer with the Tambaqui? Has anyone else here tried Leedh lossless volume control?

 

Joel Chevassus’s stellar review on SixMoons recently piqued my interest where he used the Leedh volume algorithm on the Lumin X1 as the streamer and volume control into a Mola Mola Tambaqui pre-amp-less into Lumin Amps and Vivid Giya speakers. He preferred the streamer and Leedh volume control in the X1 to the already good digital volume control in the Tambaqui, but unsurprisingly preferred the dac in the Tambaqui. He had high praise for the Lumin / Mola Mola combo and compared it favorably to some very high end Swiss gear.

I'd been very interested on Leedh digital volume myself but since the Lumin implementation it's all gone quiet for some reason. Even Audirvana was supposed to implement it but dropped it.

[HH_miller]

11 hours ago, justthemusic said:

Have you tried tried Leedh volume processing on your Lumin U1 streamer with the Tambaqui? Has anyone else here tried Leedh lossless volume control?

 

Joel Chevassus’s stellar review on SixMoons recently piqued my interest where he used the Leedh volume algorithm on the Lumin X1 as the streamer and volume control into a Mola Mola Tambaqui pre-amp-less into Lumin Amps and Vivid Giya speakers. He preferred the streamer and Leedh volume control in the X1 to the already good digital volume control in the Tambaqui, but unsurprisingly preferred the dac in the Tambaqui. He had high praise for the Lumin / Mola Mola combo and compared it favorably to some very high end Swiss gear.

 

I have never bothered with anything else but pure streaming in the U1, don’t do upsampling, disabled everything except Roon let alone MQA.

 

Selecting gear I usually look for the one thing the company does really well, streaming for me was Lumin, DAC Mola Mola. I am using the Volume feature on the Niimbus for the Cans and the DSP version inside the Genelecs.

 

My digital system has become quite bulky over the last year, but digital never sounded any better to me. 

[wklie]

On 7/1/2021 at 5:44 PM, mevdinc said:

I'd been very interested on Leedh digital volume myself but since the Lumin implementation it's all gone quiet for some reason. Even Audirvana was supposed to implement it but dropped it.

 

@justthemusic Today a Lumin user in a facebook group said after using the Lumin Leedh Processing Volume, he is considering to sell his $4k preamp.  His comments are "very defined", "superior to preamp", and "more detailed".

[hemflaw]

Hello all. Have been doing some reading here and there...

 

A couple questions to stir the pot here:

1) Any chance that the HDMI input on the Tambaqui would accept the full DSD (SACD layer) from a PS Audio transport? I know it's not in the spec -- there are a couple DACs that seem to do this (it's never in the spec likely for legal reasons) incl the Holo Audio May, and it seems like a huge win.

2) Somewhat less of a pipedream than #1; is there any hope of updating the HDMI implementation (assuming it's in software) on the MMT so it will accept high bitrates? Many other DACs do this and it's a nice way to get away from the vagaries of USB, or the SQ constraints of the MMT's built-in ethernet Roon endpoint.

3) While I'm building a wishlist, could we get NAA or UPnP rendering on that ethernet input? Would almost certainly sound better than RAAT.

 

and finally, promise I'm done:

4) Has anyone yet compared a Holo Audio May KTE (with high-rate upsampling from HQP) with the Tambaqui, the dCS Bartok, or the Chord DAVE (upsampled by HQP or MS) with the Sean Jacobs DC3 / DC4?  (TwitteringMachines review of the May compares it to the Tambaqui, but only used the May in NOS mode with no sw upsampling)

 

I'm vaguely considering building a system around the May KTE, but given the extra boxes and complexity of a high-performance HQP setup I'm only interested in it if it will approach or better the Tambaqui. The fundamentals are there (measured 130dB+ dynamic range, hotrod parts everywhere, separate power supply) but it seems like a lot of work.

 

Cheers..

[Davidny]

Another review of the Tambaqui 

 

 

 

[HH_miller]

I just came back from a vacation and wanted to browse through some new releases…. Got stuck on the second Album, Houses from Silje Nergaard.

 

The Mola Mola has transformed my streaming listening into a direction I‘d never have expected. If you listen to a vinyl record you are kind of forced by the medium to listen from start to end, which kind of forms the experience. When I started to stream I was more like jumping between tracks rushing into the next exploration. The downside is that the libraries are so huge that you can get lost easily without getting any sensual experience.

 

With the Tambaqui I am often times getting stuck to an Album even if it would not have been my choice at first hand. The presentation has something very intimate which makes it very easy to listen into the music.

 

Another positive aspect I have stopped looking at other DAC options available, so a very budget friendly investment ;-).

 

 

[Gavin1977]

Random question… has anyone ever heard another DAC which has the same precision with imaging that the Tambaqui has?

 

Or has anyone managed to achieve something similar using external clocks?

 

Thanks

[HH_miller]

10 hours ago, Gavin1977 said:

Random question… has anyone ever heard another DAC which has the same precision with imaging that the Tambaqui has?

 

Or has anyone managed to achieve something similar using external clocks?

 

Thanks

 

I am feeding the Tambaqui with AES reclocked by 2 Mutec MC-3+ and a Ref10 120 as master clock. I have had great results with reclocking over the years, nevertheless a capable DAC is what made the big difference for me. I did not try many but went from chip based via R2R now to pulse width modulation. Even though I agree that implementation does make a big difference the core technology made a bigger, ymmv.

 

[Gavin1977]

13 hours ago, HH_miller said:

 

I am feeding the Tambaqui with AES reclocked by 2 Mutec MC-3+ and a Ref10 120 as master clock. I have had great results with reclocking over the years, nevertheless a capable DAC is what made the big difference for me. I did not try many but went from chip based via R2R now to pulse width modulation. Even though I agree that implementation does make a big difference the core technology made a bigger, ymmv.

 

Interesting - why two Mutec MC-3+?  Are you daisy chaining them?

 

I didn’t get on with Holo Audio May - whilst the soundstage was nice and large… imaging was nebulous 👎

[HH_miller]

15 hours ago, Gavin1977 said:

Interesting - why two Mutec MC-3+?  Are you daisy chaining them?

 

I didn’t get on with Holo Audio May - whilst the soundstage was nice and large… imaging was nebulous 👎

 

Yes they are daisy chained, the first one is driving AES to a set of Genelecs the second the Mola Mola with AES. I previously had the Mola Mola attached to the Genelecs, but they need to run for passing the signal. Having the Tambaqui now on a dedicated AES line on the second MC3+ made a nice improvement, not night and day though.

[JHG]

Nice review in December 2021 Stereophile

 

[bluebeat]

On 11/10/2021 at 1:16 AM, JHG said:

Nice review in December 2021 Stereophile

 

 

Indeed a nice review, thanks for pointing that one out.

 

Herb Reichert is (also!) quite taken by the Tambaqui:

Quote

The dCS and Mola Mola turn streaming music into a sophisticated, high-level pastime, but there is one thing the Tambaqui does that the Bartók does not do: intense, raw clarity. And the chief byproduct of that intense, raw clarity is that recordings appear denser with a more believable corporeality than I’ve previously encountered from digital.

 

Before the Mola Mola, the Bartók was by far the most vivid, enlivened digital I’d ever used. Before the Tambaqui, the Bartók was the only DAC I wanted to use. Now I am torn. Both DACs show that improvements in the quality of digital playback have not stalled. No fact can be of greater importance to our listening hobby.

 

It adds to my (already high) curiosity. I'm going to audition the Tambaqui within the next few months. 

 

Do any of you use the Grimm MU1 with the Tambaqui? Any thoughts?

[bluebeat]

The full review by Herb Reichert is online.

[PYP]

3 hours ago, bluebeat said:

The full review by Herb Reichert is online.

Really enjoyed Bruno's brief comments about how it was designed.  Thanks.  

[PYP]

On 11/19/2021 at 9:08 AM, bluebeat said:

Do any of you use the Grimm MU1 with the Tambaqui? Any thoughts?

No direct knowledge, but page 4 of this review briefly mentions this combination: https://www.hifi-advice.com/blog/review/digital-reviews/network-player-reviews/grimm-mu1/4/   

 

"Simultaneous with the MU1, I also had the Mola-Mola Tambaqui DAC on review. As this DAC has its own review I won’t go into specifics here, but suffice to say that this unassuming little DAC is something special! Not only does it sound superb, but it also pairs very well with the MU1."

 

[bluebeat]

Hi @PYP

Thanks. Christiaan Punter is has indeed reviewed positively the Tambaqui and the MU1 as well as the combination of the two. In fact there's more than one professional reviewer who evaluated the pairing of the Tambaqui with the MU1 favorabily. I'm especially interested in the first hand experiences of fellow audiophilestyle contributors. So so, if anyone has experience with both I would like to hear about it!

Cheers,

Marc

[PYP]

31 minutes ago, bluebeat said:

Hi @PYP

Thanks. Christiaan Punter is has indeed reviewed positively the Tambaqui and the MU1 as well as the combination of the two. In fact there's more than one professional reviewer who evaluated the pairing of the Tambaqui with the MU1 favorabily. I'm especially interested in the first hand experiences of fellow audiophilestyle contributors. So so, if anyone has experience with both I would like to hear about it!

Cheers,

Marc

So, you already use the MU1 and are thinking about replacing your Ayre QX-5 Twenty with the Tambaqui?  

[further]

Thank you bluebeat for providing the link to the online review. 

 

I may have missed it, but I didn't catch what server Herb Reichert used nor the digital input connection for his review.  I have a Mola-Mola Makua preamp with the DAC module.   The Makua has the Roon Ready ethernet connection and S/PDIF optical, AES/EBU, and USB, but not I2S nor headphone.   My server is the Antipodes K50, which Christiaan Punter also reviewed and also used in his Tambaqui review.   My opinion is server and server/player are major influences in the final presentation with a DAC.  

 

I have not auditioned the Grimm MU1, but have read very happy user reviews, and Christiaan really likes it.   He generally likes AES/EBU and was his preference with the K50 in that review.  I currently prefer it as well over USB (Wireworld Platinum Starlight and Triode Wire Labs), and ethernet (Audio Sensibility Signature ethernet to K50 and Sablon 2020 ethernet from K50 Directstream ethernet port to Mola-Mola Roon Ready port).  For AES/EBU cable I am using Sablon Bocchino AES/EBU.  The USB and AES/EBU use the Antipodes reclocked digital outputs and Antipodes player while ethernet uses the Roon Ready player in the Mola-Mola DAC.  

 

My opinion is the Mola-Mola is an excellent DAC and immediately captured my attention with the first music I heard with it--crystal clear music notes suspended in space.    I do hear differences in the Mola-Mola presentation not only in the digital type input but also from differences in cables within the each type input.   As audio enthusiasts we are very fortunate to have a great selection of enjoyable DACs and servers available for our enjoyment.

[PYP]

2 hours ago, further said:

I may have missed it, but I didn't catch what server Herb Reichert used nor the digital input connection for his review.  I have a Mola-Mola Makua preamp with the DAC module.   The Makua has the Roon Ready ethernet connection and S/PDIF optical, AES/EBU, and USB, but not I2S nor headphone.   My server is the Antipodes K50, which Christiaan Punter also reviewed and also used in his Tambaqui review.   My opinion is server and server/player are major influences in the final presentation with a DAC.  

Have you compared the ethernet connection directly to the Makua vs. with the addition of the Antipodes?

And have you tried other server/players?  I ask because I'm considering adding a player/server in front of the Tambaqui.  Currently, I use the Tambaqui's ethernet input and have two UpTone etherRegens (plus power supplies and one external clock) before the Tambaqui to reduce various kinds of noise carried by copper ethernet.  The sound is very, very good, but I'm curious about a one-box solution.